Resident, Commuter, and Business Perceptions of New Superstreets

AbstractSuperstreets are an unconventional at-grade intersection design that have significant potential to help with safety and delay. The purpose of this paper is to formally evaluate residential, commuter, and business owner opinions of superstreets across North Carolina through feedback from three separate surveys. Findings from each of the surveys provide interesting feedback. Residents living near superstreets agree the design helps them travel more safely through the intersection. Commuting drivers perceive superstreets to be more difficult to navigate, but feel strongly about savings in travel time and reductions in numbers of stopped vehicles. Business reactions varied greatly depending on the ability to make direct left turns from the arterial. In general, more business managers feel superstreets negatively impact business growth and operations. Based on the opinions of adjacent business owners/managers, access and confusion were identified as key problems in retaining the number of regular custo...